Is It Safe to Buy Property in Montenegro? The Checks That Matter

Is it safe to buy property in Montenegro as a foreigner? Yes, if you verify the specific building. Foreigners can buy apartments and houses on the same terms as citizens; the main risk is illegal or unregistered construction.

"Is it safe to buy property in Montenegro" is one of the most common questions buyers type before anything else. The honest answer has two halves. The country is open to foreign buyers, uses the euro, and records ownership in a public cadastre. The risk sits one level down, in the specific building: whether it was built with a permit, whether it is registered, and whether anything is written against it.

That risk is not theoretical. As reported by the weekly Monitor in October 2025, around 62,500 legalisation requests had been filed by June 2025, while only 3,589 buildings had actually been legalised since 2018. Montenegro has a large stock of buildings whose papers are not in order, and some of them are on the market.

What the 2025 legalisation law changed for buyers

In July 2025 Parliament adopted a new Law on the Legalisation of Illegal Buildings, published in Official Gazette 91/25 and in force since 14 August 2025. Four provisions matter directly to a buyer:

The deadline for owners to start registering unregistered buildings was set at six months and has since been extended twice, by amendments published in Official Gazette 18/2026 and 117/2026, the second in force since 15 August 2026. For a buyer the exact deadline matters less than the rule that does not change: a building without registration or a legalisation decision cannot be sold. Anything that relies on "the papers are in progress" relies on a procedure that may not finish. One clarification arrived with the February 2026 amendment: a flat whose extract carries only the note "no use permit" may still be sold if it was built in line with its building permit, so the building permit and the design it was built to are the documents that explain that note.

Protected zones carry extra conditions. The law lists the coastal zone (morsko dobro), UNESCO World Heritage areas such as the Kotor region, water land, landslide areas and others; buildings there can be legalised only if they fit the planning parameters for that zone.

How to read the title extract

The title extract (list nepokretnosti) is issued by the Real Estate Administration, which runs the cadastre. It is split into sheets, and two of them answer most of the safety question:

• The "B" sheet shows who owns the property. The person signing the contract must be the person, or all the persons, listed there.
• The "G" sheet shows burdens and restrictions: mortgages, and notes such as "no use permit", "no report on professional supervision", "built without a building permit" or "exceeds the building permit". The 2025 law uses exactly these notes as the trigger for disposal bans.

An empty "G" sheet is not a guarantee, but a note in it is a stop sign until it is explained in writing.

Seven checks before any money moves

On check 6: since 13 August 2025 real estate intermediation is regulated by its own law, with a register of intermediaries, a licence and a professional exam, and a written contract with the client. On check 7: ownership passes when the cadastre registers it, not when the contract is signed; the steps are set out in our guide to buying property in Montenegro.

Several of these checks need someone who can open registers a buyer cannot, especially for new builds and larger purchases. RoNa Legal's due diligence checklist goes through which register proves what. Fijaka is a marketplace and does not give legal advice.

New build or resale: where the risk sits

Each has its own typical problem. With a new build, the question is whether the developer has the building permit and, at completion, the use permit, and when the unit will be registered in your name. With a resale, the question is whether the flat on the ground matches the flat in the register: enclosed balconies, added floors and converted attics are common, and the 2025 law treats any part built without a permit as an illegal building in its own right.

Neither is safer by default. The safer purchase is the one whose "G" sheet you have read.

So, is it safe?

For a buyer who does the checks above, yes, in the sense that the legal system gives you the tools to see the problem before you pay. The rules on who may buy are generous and the cadastre is public. What is not safe is buying on trust: paying before the notary, accepting "the permit is coming", or skipping the title extract because the agent has seen it.

If you are comparing locations as well, our data review of the Montenegrin market and the coast vs capital comparison cover prices and demand. Current listings are on the Montenegro real estate page.

Frequently asked questions

Can an illegal building be sold in Montenegro? Not under the 2025 legalisation law. A building without a permit that is not registered or has no legalisation decision cannot be sold, and a ban on disposal is entered in the title extract.

What is the "G" sheet? The part of the title extract that lists burdens and restrictions, such as mortgages and notes that a building has no use permit or was built without a permit.

Can a building be legalised if it was built recently? Only buildings visible on the July 2025 satellite and aerial survey can be legalised under the 2025 law.

Do I need a lawyer to buy property in Montenegro? It is not mandatory, but checks such as legal status, zone restrictions and developer permits are easier with someone who can access the relevant registers.

When do I become the owner? When the purchase is registered in the cadastre, not when the contract is signed.